A little ‘Lost’ music

Royce Hall concert to feature score from series

“Lost” is going out on a high note for about 1,800 fortunate fans who will hear a live orchestral perf of music from the series at UCLA’s Royce Hall Thursday, to be conducted by “Lost” maestro Michael Giacchino.

The concert, which will feature appearances by series stars Michael Emerson, Jorge Garcia and Nestor Carbonell, will be followed by a preview screening of “Lost’s” penultimate episode. That’s a pretty luxurious way to ease into the show’s epic (two and a half hour) May 23 finale.

Proceeds from “Lost Live: The Final Celebration” will benefit downtown L.A.’s Colburn School of Performing Arts. The 50-piece orchestra will be a mix of Giacchino’s regulars from his famed “Lost” orchestra (the show is among the rare primetime skeins to still use live musicians on every score) and students from the school. The concert event was the brainstorm of “Lost” exec producer Carlton Cuse, who is involved with Colburn. Cuse’s wife, Christiane, is a board member of the school that offers music and dance instruction to students of all ages.

“We thought it was a great way to connect working musicians with students who are looking to make a living playing music,” Giacchino says. “And we want it to be fun — not all academic and serious. We’re celebrating what is quite an amazing ending to a long run.”

Throughout “Lost’s” six seasons, Giacchino’s stirring themes have become as indelible a part of the ABC series as the Smoke Monster, the numbers and Dharma-label ranch dressing. His work never fails to dazzle, even on impossibly tight deadlines. (He’s also become Pixar’s go-to composer, earning an Oscar this year for “Up.”)

Giacchino spent most of last week writing the score for the finale. Without giving away any secrets, he admitted he spent most of the time in tears.

“It’s hard to explain what an amazing experience this has been for me,” Giacchino says of his labors on the show. He’s developed a close kinship with the regulars in the “Lost” orchestra as well as its thesps and exec producers Cuse and Damon Lindelof. The experience of writing the final score “is the closest I’ve come to the feeling of losing a family member,” he says.

Giacchino and a handful of “Lost” thesps did a live perf in 2007 in Honolulu with the Honolulu Symphony Toyota Pops. Thesp Terry O’Quinn lent dramatic gravitas to that concert by narrating key passages from the series as the music soared. No doubt Giacchino and crew have something equally breathtaking in store for Thursday night.

“When you get the chance to see in person what a show like this means to people, it’s a very moving experience,” he says.

Cuse says his aim in setting up the event was to pay tribute to Giacchino’s contributions to the series and to the unyielding passion of its fans.

” ‘Lost’ is so much about the community that has grown up around the show. It seemed like it would be a great culmination for all of us to watch the (penultimate) episode together and have that shared experience,” Cuse says. “I think it’s going to be a powerful and emotional evening.”